As evangelicals, how are we to assess this situation? Should women in our churches fill the roles of elders,deacons, and/or pastors? In surveying the literature and websites of evangelicals addressing this issue,the usual response is that women cannot become pastors because pastors are also elders, and since elders must be male, this would exclude women from becoming pastors.
I submit, however, that this confuses the issue. Scripture consistently maintains a distinction between the office and the gift. Elder-ship is an office, whereas pastor teacher is a gift.
Biblicaly speaking, there seem to be six distinctions between the gift and the office.First, the office appears to be limited to apostles (Acts 1:21–25), elders/bishops (1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–11), deacons (Acts 6:1–6; 1 Tim 3:8–13), and possibly deaconesses (depending on how one interprets 1 Tim 3:11 and Rom 16:1). Gifts, on the other hand, are many. In 1 Cor 12:8–11, 28–30, the gifts listed are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophesy, discerning spirits, various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostles, prophets, teachers, performance of miracles, helps, and administration.
In Rom 12:6–8 the list includes the gifts of prophecy, service or ministry, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy. Ephesians 4:11 mentions apostles (e.g. Barnabas, Acts 14:14; James the Lord’s brother, Gal 1:19), prophets (e.g. Agabus, Acts 11:27–28; 21:10; Philip’s daughters, Acts 21:8–9), evangelists (e.g. Philip, Acts 21:8), and pastors-teachers.12 Finally, 1 Pet 4:10 asserts that every believer receives a gift, although no specific gift is listed. Notably, some would limit the gifts
only to those mentioned in these passages, while others think that there are other gifts which are not listed in the NT. Second, it should be noted that those who hold offices are either appointed
(Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) or elected based on qualifications (Acts 1:26; 6:3; 1 Tim 3:1–13), whereas gifts are sovereignty bestowed directly by God (Eph 4:7; Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:11, 18, 28). Hence, there are no qualifications listed in any of the gifts passages.People are not given gifts based on observable qualifications but because of God’s sovereign gracious act.Third, Scripture indicates that every believer has at least one gift (Eph 4:7; 1 Cor 12:7, 11; Rom 12:4; 1 Pet 4:10), but not every believer holds an office.Fourth, while marital status is mentioned for the offices of elder and deacon (1 Tim 3:2, 4–5, 12; Titus 1:6), no such stipulation is mentioned for those endowed with gifts. Fifth, those holding the office of elder cannot be a recent convert (1 Tim 3:6), whereas gifts are given to each person regardless of age or maturity.Sixth, the office of elder (possibly deacon also) must be held by men (e.g. 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6), whereas gifts are given to either gender, for you have, for example, women who have the gift of prophecy (e.g. Acts 21:9–10; 1 Cor 11:5).The following paragraphs expand on these principles. As stated above, anyone who is a candidate for an office must meet certain qualifications. It is the duty of believers to ascertain whether or not a candidate meets those qualifications.
For example, after Jesus’ ascension the early Christian community felt it needed to replace the apostle Judas.Thus a meeting was convened that consisted of 120 followers of Jesus including a list of the names of the eleven apostles (Acts 1:13–15). There Peter announced that Judas must be replaced by someone who met certain qualifications.This person must have associated with the named apostles who were with Jesus at the onset of his ministry beginning with the baptism of John the Baptist until the time of Jesus’ ascension and must have witnessed the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:12–26). Matthias was chosen to replace Judas because he met the stated qualifications.Another case in point is the office of elder or bishop. The qualifications for the office of elder are listed in 1 Tim 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9. In these passages it states that an elder is a male, must be married, and have control of his children, thus indicating that he can manage his own household well, serving as evidence that he will be able to care for the body of believers. He is to be “the husband of one wife” which suggests that he can never be divorced, although there is room for debate on this expression. He must be temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, have the ability to teach, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, and free from the love of money. He must not be a recent convert. A deacon has many of the same qualifications (1 Tim 3:8–13) as those listed for the elders. He is a male, must be married, manage his children and household well, indicating that he will be qualified to care for the body of believers. He is “to be the husband of one wife,” again suggesting that he can never be divorced. He is to be serious (or dignified), not double-tongued,not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, and must be bold in his faith in Christ. Also listed are qualifications for the deacon’s wife or perhaps, in this context, the office of deaconess, depending on one’s interpretation. An argument can be made for deaconess in 1 Tim 3:11.14 Hence, the point to be made here is that those who are to occupy an office need to meet the qualifications listed and it is incumbent on those who elect them to be sure that they meet those qualifications. In other words, if someone had not been with Jesus from the time of his baptism by John the Baptist, he would not qualify to occupy the office of an apostle. Likewise, if a person did not manage his children and household well, he would not qualify for the office of an elder or deacon.
In contrast to office holders, no qualifications are given for those who are endowed with gifts.
It should be noted that in all of the above-mentioned passages that list the gifts (1 Cor 12:8–11, 28–30; Rom 12:6–8; Eph 4:11;1 Pet 4:10), no qualifications are given (as there are for those who hold an office), because these are sovereignly bestowed by God. Let us examine, for example, a non-controversial gift such as that of administration (1 Cor 12:28). God might bestow this gift on a young person or a recent convert to Christianity.This person may be single, divorced, or remarried. Furthermore, if God bestows this gift on people when they are single, it does not necessarily follow that they will lose it when they marry or they become divorced. Also,a woman could have this gift. Again, she could be single, married, or divorced while retaining God’s gift to her. In the passages dealing with gifts, no moral stipulations are stated. However, other parts of Scripture clearly state what is expected of all Christians. It obviously is desirable, even necessary, that while exercising one’s gift, one displays the godly attributes that are stated throughout God’s Word.A case in point is that Paul exhorts believers in 1-Corinthians 13 to exercise their gifts in love.To summarize then, the selection of a person to hold an office depends on certain stated qualifications, whereas a gift is sovereignty bestowed by God and not limited solely by the qualifications given for an office.Inexplicably, it is common to confuse gift and office,15 although they are clearly delineated in the NT. Merkle is very careful in his work, which is a published dissertation, not to mix the office of elder or overseer with the recipients of gifts.
Even he, however, in a recent article in this Journal,states in the opening sentence, “For many Bible students, pastors, and scholars the main reason for not allowing women to hold the office of pastor(i.e. elder or overseer) is primarily based on Paul’s arguments from creation in 1 Tim 2:13–14.”17 This furthers the confusion of gift and office.
Most certainly, those who hold an office would also have gifts as does every other believer. In fact, it would be likely for elders to have the gift of pastor teacher,because one of their qualifications is the ability to teach (1 Tim 3:2;cf. Titus 1:9). Furthermore, Paul exhorted the Ephesian elders to shepherd the flock (Acts 20:28), an indication that elders might have the gift of caring as well (1 Cor 12:28; Rom 12:7–8).On the other hand, it may be that Paul was encouraging elders to care for believers in Ephesus in the more general way that all Christians are to care for one another rather than their having that specific gift. Timothy, for instance, was exhorted to do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim 4:5); this does not necessitate that he had the gift of an evangelist (Eph 4:11) but that he was to spread the gospel as all believers are exhorted to do. After considerable discussion, Fung correctly demonstrates that there is not an antithesis between ecclesiastical office and spiritual gifts as Käsemann and others purport, but that those who hold an office utilize their spiritual gift(s)
while carrying out the duties of the office.However, the opposite is not true, that is, a gifted person may not necessarily hold an office, since only a select number will occupy the offices of elder and/or deacon. In conclusion, it is vital to maintain a distinction between offices and spiritual gifts.
On this premise, a woman may have the gift of pastor-teacher or even an apostle (as may have been the case for Junia/Junias in Rom 16:7), but she cannot be an elder. It should be noted that there are both the office of an apostle discussed above and the gift of apostle mentioned in Eph 4:11.Confusing office and gift sets the stage for inherent problems.Often when a woman becomes a pastor, it follows that she becomes also an elder. Many, thereby, mistakenly object to her position as a pastor. Her functioning as pastor while not assuming the office of elder would have negated such objections.
As women mistakenly proceeded to assume the office of elder this progression has not stopped there.
The next logical step, then, has been the allowance for women bishops.
If the delineation between gifts and office had been operative, this would not have been as likely to happen. As stated above, the same would hold true, for example, for one who has the gift of administration; it does not automatically mean that person would occupy the office of an elder.
It shall be emphasized, as previously stated, that in addition to the misinterpretation of office and gift, there are cultural pressures to allow women the same opportunities as men, causing many churches to insist that Scripture must be adapted to modern times and mores.The terms “elder” (presbuvteroÍ) and “overseer, bishop” (ejpÇskopoÍ) are used interchangeably in Acts 20:17, 28 and Titus 1:5.
However, Bornkamm thinks that in the Pastoral Epistles the office of elder is not to be equated with the office of bishop. He notes that Titus 1:5–6 lists the qualifications of an elder, whereas 1:7–9 notes the qualifications of a bishop. He states: “This is proved by the simple fact that in the Pastorals ejpÇskopoÍ is always in the singular while the presbuvteroi form a college.”20 But Fung rightly argues that regarding “the list of qualifications in Titus 1:5–9, the conjunction gave at the beginning of verse 7 binds closely what follows with what precedes, so that only one list, not two, of qualifications is given here—namely, those for the presbyter-bishop.”21 Furthermore, Acts 20:17, 28 uses the two terms interchangeably, and both terms are in the plural. Consequently, once a church elects a woman as the pastor and equates this with the office of elder, it is but a small step to electing a woman as bishop, since the biblical text equates the two.This underlines the problem one faces when gift and office are confused. Again, by distinguishing between gift and office, it allows a woman to exercise her sovereignly bestowed gift of pastor-teacher without becoming an elder, overseer, or bishop.Another confusing factor is ordination. Since the gift of pastor-teacher is often equated with the office of elder, ordination, often performed by the laying on of hands, is seen as the church’s recognition solely of an office.There is, of course, precedent in the OT for the laying on of hands.There was the anointing of priests (Exodus 19; Leviticus 8) and kings (1 Sam 9:16; 16:1; 1 Kgs 11:30–38); also the laying of hands on the Levites (Num 8:10) and leaders such as Joshua (Num 27:15–23; Deut 34:9).
In all these cases it seemed to signify anointing to various offices. This same practice has continued
throughout church history up to the present time.In the early church there was the laying of hands on those who received the Spirit (Acts 8:17;9:17; 19:6) as well as on those who took the office of deacons (Acts 6:6).
However, the laying on of hands was also bestowed on Paul and Barnabas by the church of Antioch in recognition of their gifts and their particular mission to the Gentiles. Later we see that Paul and the elders laid hands on Timothy in recognition of the endowment of his spiritual gift (1 Tim 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim 1:6).It is clear, therefore, that although the laying on of hands for recognition of an office is mentioned once (Acts 6:6), more often the laying on of hands in the NT was for the recognition of service and spiritual gifts. As such, in the present day it is not unusual within evangelical churches for the laying of hands on missionary couples and families before they go to their field of service, in recognition of their gifts and particular venue of service. Hence, it is often a recognition of gifts and service rather than the ordination to an office. In light of this, there would be no problem in ordaining women who have the gift of pastor-teacher for a particular service or ministry, because neither are an office. Throughout the years many women have been eminently effective pastor teachers.For instance, Weatheral Johnson, who had been a missionary to China and at one point had been imprisoned by the Japanese, after World War II started Bible Study Fellowship using her gift of pastor-teacher to minister to thousands of women around the world. Another well-known woman whom I would judge to have had the gift of pastor-teacher was Henrietta Mears (born in 1890; died March 20, 1963) of First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. She began her ministry there in 1928, and Sunday School attendance went from 400 to 4000 within three years. As a result of her ministry over 400 people entered into full-time ministry, among whom were Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ, Richard Halverson, former chaplain to the Senate, and Robert Munger, minister of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and later professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. And these two women are only examples of many other women who have exercised
the gift of pastor-teacher.
J. Gordon Melton, The Churches Speak on Women’s Ordination: Official Statements from
Religious Bodies and Ecumenical Organizations (contributing ed. Gary L. Ward; Detroit: Gale
Research, 1991) 236.
It may be noticed that I consistently hyphenate pastor-teacher. In the list of gifts in Eph 4:11,
they are all plural and all are preceded by the article except pastors and teachers where there is
one article for both nouns. The order then is the article, first noun, conjunction (kaÇ), and the second
noun. How is this to be rendered? Over the centuries it has been debated as to whether or not
they represent two differently gifted persons or one person with a combination of two gifts. The
latter interpretation may consider the conjunction kaÇ as explicative, “that is,” thus translated
“and some to be pastors, that is, teachers.” Although one article used for two plural nouns does
not necessarily denote identity as seen in Eph 2:20 where there is one article for both the apostles
and prophets, it does indicate that “groups more or less distinct are treated as one for the purpose
at hand.” See A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical
Research, 4th ed. (Nashville: Broadman Press, [1923]) 787; Nigel Turner, Syntax, vol. 3, A Grammar
of New Testament Greek, ed. James Hope Moulton (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1963) 181. Accordingly,some sort of distinction should be maintained. After a study of the grammatical structure
of one article followed by two plural nouns separated by the conjunction kaÇ (as here), Wallace
suggests that the first is the subset of the second and thus “all pastors are to be teachers, though not
all teachers are to be pastors” (Daniel B. Wallace, “The Semantic Range of the Article-Noun-kaÇNoun Plural Construction in the New Testament,” Grace Theological Journal 4 [Spring 1983]: 83;
see also idem, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament
[Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], 284). Hence, while there is a distinction between the two, the
distinction is not total. It seems that these two gifts (not offices), pastoring and teaching, are distinct
and thus all pastors should be teaching but not all teachers are pastoring. Certainly, Jesus modeled
both shepherding and teaching and so should those who have like gifts. Hence, in light of the construction which employs one plural article followed by the first plural noun “pastor” followed by
the conjunction (kaÇ), and finally the second plural noun “teacher,” it is appropriate to translate
it “pastor(s)-teacher(s).”The titles of elder and bishop are used interchangeably; see William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles (WBC 46; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000) 161–63; Benjamin L. Merkle, The Elder and Overseer: One Office in the Early Church (Studies in Biblical Literature 57; New York: Peter Lang, 2003) 19–21, 157–61.
For a good and brief discussion, see Mounce, Pastoral Epistles 202–4.E.g. [Jean] Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians (trans. T. H. L Parker; ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/Edinburgh and London: Oliver & Boyd, 1965) 178–80; John Eadie, A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (3d ed.; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1883; repr. Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d.) 298; T. K. Abbott, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians and to the Colossians (ICC; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1897) 117; Markus Barth, Ephesians: Translation and Commentary on Chapters 4–6 (AB 34A; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974) 438; R. Schnackenburg,“Christus, Geist und Gemeinde (Eph. 4:1–16),” in Christ and Spirit in the New Testament. In Honour of Charles Francis Digby Moule (ed. Barnabas Lindars and Stephen S. Smalley; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973) 292, 295. Schweizer states that “the ministries of bishop and pastor are one and the same” in Church Order in the New Testament (trans. Frank Clarke; SBT 32 [London: SCM, 1961] 200); George W. Knight III, “Two Offices (Elders/Bishops and Deacons) and Two Orders of Elders (Preaching/Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders): A New Testament Study,” Presbyterion 11 (1985) 9–10; William R. Yount, “The Pastor as Teacher,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 38 (1996) 15–23; C. Mack Roark, “Interpreting Ephesians 4–6: ‘God’s People in a Walk Worthy of His Calling,’ ” Southwestern Journal of Theology 39 (1996) 34; Christfried Böttrich, “Gemeinde und Gemeindeleitung nach Epheser 4,” TBei 30 (1999) 140–49. Although there may be an overlap of ministries between the person who has a gift and one who has an office, the two still must not be confused.
See, for example, Merkle, The Elder and Overseer 112–13. Benjamin L. Merkle, “Paul’s Argument from Creation in 1 Corinthians 11:8–9 and 1 Timothy 2:13–14: An Apparent Inconsistency Answered,” JETS 49 (2006) 527.Ronald Y. K. Fung, “Charismatic versus Organized Ministry? An Examination of an Alleged Antithesis,” EQ 52 (1980) 195–214, esp. 196–206; see also idem, “Ministry, Community and Spiritual Gifts,” EQ 56 (1984) 19; idem, “Function or Office? A Survey of the New Testament Evidence,” Evangelical Review of Theology 8 (April 1984) 16–39; idem, “Ministry in the New Testament,”in The Church in the Bible and the World: An International Study (ed. D. A. Carson; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987) 154–212. See Linda Belleville, “∆Iounian . . . e jpÇshmoi ejn to∂Í a˚postovloiÍ: A Re-examination of Rom 16.7 in Light of Primary Sourc Materials,” NTS 51 (2005) 231–49.Günther Bornkamm, “prevsbuÍ, ktl.,” TDNT 6.667.Fung, “Function or Office?” 29. Everett Ferguson, “Ordain, Ordination,” ABD 4:37–41
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